'Windows failed to start '

[moono]

Of my five PCs two are currently down due to Windows problems.  This is my latest disaster-  my wife's machine with all her photos on it.

 

For no apparent reason the machine failed to boot.  Perfectly OK when switched off yesterday, fails to start today.  Message reads;

 

Windows failed to start.

Insert installation disk.

Click Repair Computer.

Status 0x000000F 

 

Fine.  After inserting the disk-  the same Windows 7 Home Premium installation disk- and choosing ' Repair '-  message reads;

 

This version of system recovery options is not compatible with the version of Windows you are trying to repair.

 

Where do I go from here, please ?

The OS was installed on NTFS with 64-bit and I'm trying to repair with the same disk.

[Computer_Commando]

Is your original disc SP1 or not?  If not, get the disc iso with SP1 here:
http://www.mydigitallife.info/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-from-digital-river/

[moono]

I'm sorry, c_c, but I can't find what you're suggesting on that link-  but my installation disk is SP1, yes.

[Computer_Commando]

I'm sorry, c_c, but I can't find what you're suggesting on that link-  but my installation disk is SP1, yes.

They changed the webpage since yesterday.  I've had it bookmarked for a few months.
Your disk should be OK as is.
I haven't tried a Win7 recovery & don't need to since I use Macrium Reflect for image backups.

New link for Windows iso's here:  http://www.w7forums.com/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-image-downloads-t12325.html

How to Do a Repair Install to Fix Windows 7
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

How to Run a Startup Repair in Windows 7
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/681-startup-repair.html

[moono]

Thanks for that, but it's not possible to do a Repair Install or to run a Startup Repair.    How can I retrieve my files from a HDD that Windows cannot access ?

[cengbrecht]

Thanks for that, but it's not possible to do a Repair Install or to run a Startup Repair.    How can I retrieve my files from a HDD that Windows cannot access ?

If you want to recover the files, you can use a CD bootable image like Ubuntu Desktop to grab the files. You can run Ubuntu from the CD to access the hard drive of your computer using a Graphical User Interface similar to windows. It does look a little different but its free. You can then save them to an external Drive, and simply re-install windows.
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop

[patio]

The other 2 options would be to hook it up as a slave drive in a working PC...
Slave Drive Tutorial...
That's the no-cost method...
2nd option would be to buy an external HDD enclosure and do it that way...

[moono]

If you want to recover the files, you can use a CD bootable image like Ubuntu Desktop to grab the files. You can run Ubuntu from the CD to access the hard drive of your computer using a Graphical User Interface similar to windows. It does look a little different but its free. You can then save them to an external Drive, and simply re-install windows.
http://www.ubuntu.com/download/desktop

Thank you.  I'm currently looking at the Windows HDD with ' Parted Magic ' but it can't see the ' C drive ' files.   It can see the contents of the second, data backup, HDD on that machine but not the OS HDD.  Unfortunately, I hadn't backed up for a while. 
I'll post the ' Parted Magic ' message-  when I get a chance-  and perhaps you can determine the problem from that ?

[moono]

The other 2 options would be to hook it up as a slave drive in a working PC...
Slave Drive Tutorial...
That's the no-cost method...
2nd option would be to buy an external HDD enclosure and do it that way...

I've bought another internal HDD just in case .  Thanks for that, I'll look into it this week.